Chapter 2 - What Rosalie Saw
Robert carried Livia into the adjoining sitting room.
His daughter wouldn't release his neck.
"Please don't make me go back."
"You aren't going anywhere near her."
Rosalie followed them and closed the door.
Robert found a soft hand towel, dampened it, and carefully wiped loose strands of hair from Livia's cheek.
Every time his fingers approached the shaved patch, she flinched.
That nearly broke him.
He had spent three years believing he was rebuilding a family.
Livia's mother, Caroline, had died suddenly when Livia was three.
For nearly a year afterward, Livia barely spoke to anyone except Robert and Rosalie.
Then Bianca entered their lives.
She had been patient at first.
Warm.
Gentle.
Never pushing Livia.
She learned how the child liked her pancakes.
She sat beside her during thunderstorms.
She placed fresh flowers beside Caroline's photograph without being asked.
Robert had mistaken performance for love.
"How long?" he asked quietly.
Rosalie knew what he meant.
"How long has Bianca been treating her like this?"
Rosalie hesitated.
Livia's grip tightened.
"Grandma."
That single frightened word answered him.
Robert stood.
"Mom."
Rosalie looked ashamed.
"I didn't know how bad it was."
"How long?"
"A few months."
Robert stared at her.
"And you didn't tell me?"
"I tried."
"No, you didn't."
"I told you Bianca was becoming controlling."
"You said the wedding was moving too fast."
"Because every time I said anything stronger, she convinced you I was grieving Caroline and couldn't accept another woman."
Robert looked away.
It was true.
Bianca had always been clever.
She never insulted Rosalie directly.
She made Robert feel as though every concern came from grief.
Every warning became jealousy.
Every uncomfortable question became resistance to change.
Livia tugged his sleeve.
"Daddy?"
"Yeah, sweetheart?"
"Is Bianca still gonna be my new mom?"
Robert swallowed.
"No."
Livia's entire body loosened.
Not disappointment.
Relief.
Robert felt something inside him collapse.
Rosalie reached into her handbag.
"There's something else."
She removed a folded piece of paper.
It was a photocopy of a shipping receipt.
Robert looked at it.
"What is this?"
"Yesterday, Bianca mailed an envelope to a private boarding academy in Vermont."
Robert frowned.
"Livia isn't going to boarding school."
"I know."
Rosalie pulled out her phone.
"I called them this morning."
Robert's eyes rose.
"They already had an application."
His face tightened.
"For Livia?"
Rosalie nodded.
"Signed by you."
Robert stared at her.
"I never signed anything."
"I know."
She showed him a photo she'd taken.
A school application.
Robert's printed name.
And beneath it...
a signature that looked almost exactly like his.
Livia whispered from the couch.
"Bianca said I was going to a special school after the honeymoon."
Robert turned.
His stomach dropped.
"She told you that?"
Livia nodded.
"She said Daddy wanted a new family."
Robert closed his eyes.
Rosalie stepped closer.
"Robert, that's what I was trying to tell you before the ceremony."
He looked toward the bridal room.
"The garment bag."
Rosalie nodded.
"I saw her put a legal envelope inside it."
"What kind?"
"I couldn't read everything."
Then she said the two words that made Robert's pulse hammer.
May you like
"Custody documents."
👉 Bianca hadn't simply been cruel to Livia—she had been quietly preparing to remove her from Robert's home entirely.
